The 24 Seasons
of Japan’s Lunisolar Calendar

The 24 small seasons are a calendar system. They were developed in ancient China and were later adopted by the Japanese. This calendar uses the sun's position and the moon's cycles to measure time (also known as a luni-solar calendar). Within the yearly cycle, the months are divided into smaller units of time. While you can have months of your regular 28 to 31-day duration, you can also have smaller increments of time, smaller seasons. Known as “sekki” in Japanese, these are two-week increments that traditionally helped guide the ebb and flow of the seasons, their rites, and passages. Their names are inspired by celestial phenomena or what might be growing, arriving, or coming into being. With poetic names like “Frost Descends” or “Wintering Insects Awake,” they were a reminder of the present moment of the year.

Perhaps better known are Japan’s 72 microseasons, which break down these two weeks into smaller units of approximately five days each. Known as pentads, the microseasons really encourage you to take a close look at what is happening day by day!

We find that, despite the allure of the microscopic seasons, it’s really these “small” two-week seasons that are more manageable. We can remember these seasons in our lives and find a place for them. Much can be planned and thought through in two-week increments, and we believe that living life season by season helps bring a sense of progression, renewal, and flow.

Why Live Life through the 24 Seasons?

By being more attuned to the passage of time, we become more grounded, slow down, and feel more connected to the natural world. As we move through busy days full of screens and meetings, it is easy to forget that small changes happen every day, and that small adventures unfold for the plants and animals that call this planet home. The 24 seasons help us to acknowledge the subtle changes we feel. Kit and I view the 24 seasons of the year as a framework to guide you. It is not a blank canvas, but branches of a tree that form part of the whole.

Making the 24 Seasons Your Own

It may be enough simply to notice the passage of time through these smaller seasons, but how can you feel like an active part of the natural world? Kit and I have found this through seasonal words, or kigo. This is a concept in Japanese haiku, where a specific word or phrase evokes a particular season. Seasonal words can include peepers in early spring, the last hanging persimmon in winter, cats in love, or geese across an autumn sky. As you go through life, look for your own seasonal words. And, if you make a habit of noticing these seasonal elements, you will also begin to notice when they come and go. The seasonal words are the leaves on the branches.

24 Season Ideas and Prompts:

  • Nature walks in the same spot every two weeks, in accordance with each season. What do you see? What do you notice is different? How are you different from the two weeks prior?

  • Make a piece of art every two weeks. It could be inspired by the natural world - or not! Just make a piece that reminds you of this time in your life.

  • Journaling Prompt. Is writing every day too much? Every week too much? Why not try to write every two weeks, and use the season as your jumping off point for your writing.

  • Seasonal Flavors: What foods feel very of the season? Look for foods at your farmers market or the grocery shelves. From new greens in February to gingerbread in December, seasonal eats are all around.

  • Season Word Lists: What are the seasonal words in your area? Start writing them down and create your own saijiki, seasonal almanac.

  • A Haiku for Each Season: Don’t have time for writing or art or cooking? How about a haiku for each season!

  • A plant for each of the 24 seasons: What plant symbolizes this time of year? Document, draw, write, or simply note it.

The 24 Seasons of the Year
Notice that spring and the new year begin in early February.

The 24 Small Seasons and their Dates*

Spring | 春 Haru
Beginning of Spring | 立春  Risshun (February 4–18)
Snow Becomes Rain |  雨水 Usui (February 19–March 4)
Wintering Insects Awake | 啓蟄 Keichitsu (March 5–19)
Spring Equinox | 春分 Shunbun (March 20–April 4)
Clear and Bright | 清明 Seimei (April 5–19)
Grain Rain | 穀雨 Koku’u (April 20–May 4)

Summer | 夏 Natsu
Beginning of Summer | 立夏 Rikka (May 5–20)
Fine Weather | 小満 Shōman (May 21–June 5)
The Time of Planting Grains | 芒種 Bōshu (June 6–20)
The Summer Solstice | 夏至 Geshi (June 21–July 6)
Growing Heat | 小暑 Shōsho (July 7–22)
Sweltering Heat | 大暑 Taisho (July 23–August 6) 

Autumn | 秋 Aki
Beginning of Autumn | 立秋 Risshū (August 7–22)
Fading Heat | 処暑 Shosho (August 23–September 6)
White Dew | 白露 Hakuro (September 7–22)
Autumn Equinox | 秋分 Shūbun (September 23–October 7)
Cold Dew | 寒露 Kanro (October 8–22)
Frost Descends | 霜降 Sōkō (October 23–November 6) 

Winter | 冬 Fuyu
The Beginning of Winter | 立冬 Rittō (November 7–21)
Light Snow | 小雪 Shōsetsu (November 22–December 6)
Heavy Snow | 大雪 Taisetsu (December 7–21)
Winter Solstice | 冬至 Tōji (December 22–January 4)
Early Cold | 小寒 Shōkan (January 5–19)
Deep Cold | 大寒 Daikan (January 20–February 3)

*Dates are subject to change slightly each year.